population of nepal

The population of Nepal was estimated at just over 28,000,000 in July 2006. When the population in Nepal was surveyed in 1981, the population was only 15,000,000.  The increase in population has therefore been extremely rapid and the government in Nepal are seeking to slow down the rate through economic and social reforms.

  
58% of the population in Nepal fall primarily into the 15 – 64 year bracket, with 38% in the 0 – 14 year old bracket and only 4% in the 64 years or over category.  The median age of the population in Nepal is 20 years and the life expectancy for the Nepalese population is 60 years for both genders.  The latter statistic is a significant change from a survey carried out on the population of Nepal in 1981, which concluded that the average life expectancy in Nepal to be 50 years. It is also worth noting that men in Nepal are expected to live slightly longer than women (differing by a decimal point only).  This population statistic is an anomaly and hence Nepal is an exceptional case.  This situation may be due to a number of reasons, but likely factors include a traditional preference for male to female offspring in Nepalese society, nutritional deprivation and socio norms and values.
The Nepalese population is growing at a rate of 2.17%


. 
Three groups - Brahmans and Chhetris, Dalits, and Janajatis - are further divided by geographic region. About 49 percent of the population of Nepal live in the southern tarai or terai region, the most fertile area of Nepal. 44 percent of the population live in the central hill zone that includes the capital Kathmandu. The mountain region of northern Nepal is home to only 7 percent of the population.


The composition of the population of Nepal by simplified caste and ethnic group, according to the 2001 census, is shown in Figure 1. Hill Brahman and Chhetri account for 30.9 percent of the population. The second largest group are Hill Janajatis, with 23.0 percent of the population. 12.9 percent of the population are in Tarai Middle Castes. Each of the remaining seven caste and ethnic groups account for less than 10 percent of the population.Since Nepal is the only official Hindu state in the world, the majority of the population in Nepal practice the Hindu religion (86% of the population), whilst the remaining religions are represented by Buddhists (8%), Muslims (4%) and ‘other’ (2%).


According to the census year 2001A.D.total male population is 11,563.921 and female population is 11,587,502. 
The population of Nepal is fairly poor with a GNP per head of household of $220. The population is also ageing and since the economic and social reforms referred to earlier in this document are effective then this has further heightened the increasing proportion of elderly people in the Nepalese population.